


Malcolm Bright gets a hug

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Dani is a good friend, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends!! Supporting friends!!!, Friendship, Gen, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Malcolm is sad and fragile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 10:00:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21034427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: Malcolm has a bad day.Dani is there for him.Angst and friendship and fluff





	Malcolm Bright gets a hug

It had been a rough day, and by the end of it, Gil had told Bright that he had screwed up too much and he wasn’t needed anymore, breaking him even more than he was already broken. Dani knew that some things needed to have consequences, but she really thought that Gil could have handled this better.

So yeah, Bright had done some things he shouldn’t have, spooked people, ignored protocol, but… Even if Gil wasn’t going to stop calling, just saying that he was going to cut ties with Malcolm was enough for the profiler to… get worse. Because Bright was always on edge, and had been getting even worse these last couple of weeks and to have this taken away from him…

What was he supposed to do if Gil didn’t call? Stay at home unable to sleep and be haunted by bad memories nightmares and hallucinations? Spend time with a high society mother that probably he had a complicated relationship with? Visit that horrible human wasteland that was his father? This job had been what had been holding him together, and now….

Bright’s eyes were shining and teary, just like that time when he’d nearly sacrificed himself to the copycat killer. And she can’t take it any longer, it’s too damn sad.

“Let me give you a ride home, ok, Bright?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

He was eerily quiet the whole way to his place, which was definitely not a good sign. Despite the fact that what he said often made him seem even weirder, Bright was usually a fairly chatty guy, at least with them. He talked about murder mostly, but he also took an interest in them and tried to be a good partner. But tonight… His usual sad boy eyes were even sadder and he didn’t seem to have the energy to even think of something nice to say.

Dani was glad she offered to take him, because at least this way someone would keep an eye on him and he didn’t have to be alone. He shouldn’t be alone. The day had been long and hard on all of them, and they were all tired, but on top of everything Bright had been nearly killed and then screamed at and then all but fired. Dani knew that Gil was going to regret what he’d said, that it was only heat of the moment thing, but this night could be very hard for Bright.

“Thanks for the ride.” Malcolm said, when they got to his place.

“Can I go to the bathroom just a minute?”

It was merely an excuse so she’ll be let in, and Bright probably knew it, but who cared. The important thing was to have someone there, someone that would listen.

When Dani came out of the toilet she found him staring at nowhere, eyes bright with unshed tears and she knew she had to do something so she hugged him. Strong but gentle, with all her presence, all her affection. He didn’t return it at first… But only at first.

Suddenly, she found herself holding him while he sobbed in her shoulder, running her hand up and down his back, caressing, his hair, telling him that it was okay. Bright was still shaky and a bit too cold (probably forgot the coat at the station) and she wanted to warm him up, make him feel better.

Malcolm was holding on to Dani as if he were on the Titanic and she was the only life vest around. It was so hard, every day he spent it fighting. Fighting with his family who didn’t like him seeing his dad, trying to fight his father’s influence, fighting to not let his mental health issues stop him from doing a job he liked, from having a nice time with people he cared about more than he let on… But it was hard, because there was a lot going on inside him, a lot of images, a lot of feelings, a lot of horror and pain, and he couldn’t really explain it.

And he didn’t want to, either, because if people found out the extent of his… issues, then there would be looks of sorrow, and people treating him as if he were made of glass, and maybe talks of having some sort of baby sitter, or getting him admitted somewhere. And Malcolm enjoyed his life more or less, didn’t want that to be taken from him. But now… Now he’d gone and ruined everything.

He couldn’t go to Ainsley because she was working, couldn’t go to his mom because she was in some gala (and he wouldn’t want her to see him like this, to be honest) and couldn’t go to Gil… because Gil hated him now and didn’t want to see him ever again. The thought hurt, a lot, and he buried himself further in Dani’s shoulder and neck, trying to hold on to something real, something that didn’t hurt.

There was a hand going through his hair and Malcolm felt all the frail defenses he had left break down and melt. He wanted to forget about everything and just forget that the rest of the world existed. There was only this: the warm skin, the hand on his back, soothing him, the calm voice telling him things would get better, this gentle presence that told him that it was okay to cry a bit, and it was okay to need some physical comfort and it was okay for him to let go, to be affected by the mean words.

Because people could be very harsh with him. Out of the people in NYPD only her, Gil and Edrisa seemed to like him (JT would warm up, eventually, but it was still a work in progress). The rest of the officers had no issue showing how much they didn’t want him to be there, as did the higher up offices and just… So many people. Be it for the fact that he was the son of a serial killer, for always wanting to be the smartest, for his weird inclinations… And he was trying to be nice, he really was and sometimes it was hard, when you were faced with the cold and the suspicious looks every day.

So Malcolm just forgot, and focused on the smell, on the warmth, on the person comforting him. There was nothing else, there was just her and this moment in which at least everything was okay. In which he could be himself and people didn’t run, or tell him to calm himself, get him something to be better, or be worried. He didn’t want that. The worry, the million ways to help, the “don’t be such a drama queen”. There was none of that.

Dani was a relatively quiet person, the kind that said many things without having to talk and in this moment that’s very welcome. She’s very welcome.

They stayed like that for a while, Malcolm letting out his tears, Dani trying to a rock in the storm, an anchor, a light to guide him. Something to buffer all of that pain, someone to make things better. She kept running her hand up and down his back, until the sobbing subsided.

The she separated herself enough to look into his bloodshot eyes.

“It will be okay. I’ll talk to him, we’ll get you back.”

“Dani….”

“I see that you broke your restraints. Want me to stay the night, just in case?”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking, you’re just accepting my offer. C’mon, clean your face and find me something I can use as pj’s, it’s been a long day, we can both use some rest, don’t you think?”

“Thank you for this. Really.”

“Always.” She said, wiping a rebellious tear on his cheek and rubbing his shoulder. “You can count on me, ok? You can.”

Malcolm enjoyed having someone else in the bed, instead of those cold restraints. Sure, he wouldn’t want to Dani through babysitting him every night, but for now…. They were in their pyjamas, getting into opposite sides of the bed, and Malcolm was… Almost happy.

He never had many friends. He was too weird and his mental issues didn’t help.

But Dani knew about a lot of his dark corner and still came, still stayed.

He fell asleep thinking about that embrace, about how her voice saying it would be okay.

His mind would continue to be too stormy to navigate, his life would have up and downs…

But he still had people.

And he still had the capacity to create good memories.

When he was getting to a bad place, he would think of that hug.

A warm place to go back to. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> You know you wanna comment!!


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